Karnataka man bags first Paralympic medal for India

London, Sept 4: Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda gave India its first medal at the Paralympic Games after bagging a silver in the Men's High Jump F42 event here.

The 24-year-old from Karnataka, who has an impairment in his left leg, sailed over a height of 1.74m using scissors technique in the final of the event to finish second in the presence of an 80,000 capacity crowd last night. Iliesa Delana of Fiji won the gold, while Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland settled for bronze.

Although Delana finished on the same height of 1.74m as Girisha and Mamczarz but won gold on the basis of taking less jumps. Girisha, who is supported by Samarthanam, a Bangalore-based NGO for the disabled since 2008, took part in a three week long pre-Games training camp at Basildon Sporting Village sponsored by the Government of India.